Dana White Discusses Moment From Mayweather/McGregor Promo Tour That Made Him Most Nervous

Dana White made an appearance on 'Jimmy Kimmel Live' and discussed the upcoming Floyd Mayweather/Conor McGregor fight.

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There were quite a few tense moments during the Floyd Mayweather/Conor McGregor promotional tour that made stops in Los Angeles, Toronto, New York City, and London last week. From McGregor making some potentially racist remarks to Mayweather to Mayweather calling McGregor a stripper and making it rain on stage, both fighters crossed the line a number of times. By the time they hit London, it actually got to be a little bit too much for most casual fight fans. It turned into a circus.

The words that Mayweather and McGregor exchanged throughout the course of the promo tour for their Aug. 26 fight didn’t bother UFC president Dana White, though. He appeared on Jimmy Kimmel Live on Thursday night, and he told Jimmy Kimmel that the back-and-forth between fighters is all part of the buildup surrounding a fight. But there was one moment towards the end of the promo tour that did make him particularly nervous.

During press conferences like the ones that Mayweather and McGregor took part in during their promo tour, White explained that it’s his job to prevent fighters from going after one another physically. He’s often spotted standing in between two fighters to stop them from fighting.

"I got one job," White told Kimmel. "Make sure these two don’t touch each other…That’s pretty much what I do at these press conferences and weigh-ins, because when you have two guys who are considered the best, baddest guys in the world, whatever you want to call it, and they touch each other on national television, global TV…"

"They fall in love sometimes?" Kimmel asked.

"No, it’s the exact opposite," White said. "It’s the exact opposite. 'You have disrespected me in front of the world, and now I need to reciprocate.'"

White was able to stop Mayweather and McGregor from coming into contact with one another during the first three stops on the promo tour. In a video that surfaced after the first stop showing the face-to-face meeting between Mayweather and McGregor, White could be heard telling the two fighters not to touch one another. But during the fourth stop in London, White said that McGregor did something that made him really mad—and that could have started an actual fight between Mayweather and McGregor right on stage.

"When we got to London, Conor went by and slapped [Floyd] on top of his head," White said, "and that’s not allowed…I was yelling at Conor the whole time while it was happening. I saw it coming, and I was like, 'Conor, nooooo…' It was like slow motion."

Fortunately, Mayweather didn’t really react to McGregor touching him. But it’s not hard to see why the moment made White so nervous. Mayweather very easily could have gotten up and put his hands on McGregor in response to McGregor touching him, and that could have started a physical altercation on stage.

You can watch White talk to Kimmel about the moment at the 4-minute mark of the video above. During his sit-down with Kimmel, White also discussed McGregor’s chances against Mayweather, Donald Trump’s interest in attending the Mayweather/McGregor fight, the ticket situation for the fight, and more.

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